Ride the Lightning
by Kingofclubs8129
Summary: Wally is lost, spit out from the speedforce in a world he doesnt recognize and that doesnt recognize him. Good thing Harry specializes in finding things that are lost, although finding a whole other world is a bit much even for Harry.
1. Lightning in a Bottle

Hells Bells it was cold. I know people say that all the time, especially in Chicago (if you don't like the weather, wait a minute) and aside from that it was raining, but that isnt the kind of cold I meant. I meant a deeper kind of cold, a spiritual cold, and it was really making me nervous. Now, as a certified white council wizard (or basically), I know im supposed to be all world weary and completely fine with all kinds of metaphysical spook, but something about this place was just not right.

I looked around the yard surrounding the harmless looking lakehouse, the building itself seemed to be a bit unsettling but not in any definable way that would mark it as a bad place, the thing that really got me was the yard.

I don't know if you've ever been lost in the woods, like the really deep forest, but theres a darkness there, a wildness that comes from being away from civilization, where man shows kindness to his fellow man. A darkness that comes from being in the heart of the wild, where the pretense of humanity is shrugged off like a cloak and the monster inside of us can come out to play.

Despite the lights of the city coming over the lake, something about this yard seemed…cramped. I could feel the wild of the uncivilized world encroaching on the place, squeezing in around me, the shadows were thicker at the edges of the yard, the overgrown plantlife more menacing as it invaded the edges of the space. Black Magic had been done here, and this had become a very bad place.

I glanced uneasily around the place, taking a minute to collect my fraying nerves and reorder my thoughts, I had come out here under the impression I was looking for a cheating husband having a midlife crises, maybe someone who did a little dabbling if the amulet Monica had given me was anything to go on. This was not dabbling. This was…I didn't know what this was, but it was very not good.

I took a breath, centered myself and opened my Sight. A wizards Sight, the third eye through which we can perceive the magic in the world is a very dangerous thing, and not just to our enemies. The human soul is made up of experiences, your identity comes from your environment, from the people you've loved, and lost, and never had to start.

When you open your Sight you don't just see the world, you experience it. You live the emotions, the darkness and horror, but you live the light too, and sometimes that's even worse. What you See in your Sight changes you, makes a permanent impression on the fabric of your soul, you stare into the fabric of the world, and the world never blinks first.

So after gathering myself and steeling my mind best as I could, I opened my third eye, my Private Eye, and took a look at what made this place so terrible, and had to bite down on my tongue to keep from screaming. I tasted blood as I stared in horror at what was happening on the metaphysical plane. This spell had been dark and horrible, that's true, but it didn't really matter, the spell I was seeing, the same one that had ripped the heart from Tommy Tomm and Jennifer Stanton was an after-thought.

Something had hit that twisted sickening abomination, something huge and powerful and beautiful, and the spell had twisted it into something…awful. And I could see that whatever the thing was that hit it, the power that came through, something else had ridden it in, a human being, someone good and pure and strong, and this horrible spell had torn him to shreds like a rocket-powered chunk of Swiss through the world's most disturbing cheese grater.

I started walking, following the psychic wreckage towards the place the power would've spit him out, and after about five minutes of braving the terrifying shadows of those awful woods with all three eyes thrown wide, I came to a clearing in the woods, where I found the kid. It was strange really, I've never entered a soulgaze with my sight open before, I had been so wrapped up in looking for traces of what was happening that I'd totally missed where his eyes flickering open, and of course, as my luck would have it, I ended up looking right into those bright blue windows.

The first thing I noticed was the power, there was lightning racing through his veins and behind his eyes, and it was obvious that as he rode the lightning, the lightning rode him too. That he was chosen by it, marked by it. I Saw speed, and joy and reckless abandon, and I Saw responsibility, I Saw the choices, that he had seen bad in the world and decided to use that power for good, to help those around him, and to give his life to trying to make things just a little better than he'd found them.

I Saw love, the kind that changes your everything, the kind so strong that if the sun went out, thinking of that person would be enough to stave off the eternal winter in your world for the rest of time, and I Saw friendship, and sacrifice, and pain and resolve. And finally I Saw death, and a grinning acceptance that even though he thought he'd never see the people he loved again it was worth it, because they would be safe, and it would be because of him.

I felt the tears gather in my eyes and stream down my face and I slammed my Sight shut, unable to bear Seeing any more, and having already Seen more than enough to know I had to help this broken kid. Who loved so much he thought he'd die, and who would probably wish he had. I realized after a moment that that had been detailed as hell for a Seeing, and realized I had met those emerald eyes without noticing in my daze, and they were widened back at me with shock and awe.

I reached my hand down and held it out to the kid, offering him a hand up, and he took it, because after seeing my soul, I guess he figured he could trust me, though God only knows what he saw. I grinned at him through the tears "Nice to meet you, I'm Harry Dresden, and I'm guessing you could use some help."

A sharp slice of white teeth split the dark under that mop of blazing red hair and that ridiculous yellow mask. "Oh man, you have no idea, and nice to meet you, I'm Wally, Wally West." His grip was strong as he let me pull him up, and he swayed dangerously on his feet. I could still see echoes of the horror I'd borne witness to behind his eyes, now safe from the danger of baring our souls, but still terrifying to gaze at all the same.

With some patience and a lot of elbow grease I'd managed to get Wally into the beetle and to my apartment, he'd since woken up and was now inhaling every edible thing in my entire home (a couple cans of soup and a box of cracker jacks, which I had really been looking forward to) and healing from his physical wounds even before my eyes. I didn't open my sight again but I suspected the psychic affects of his trip through the cosmic food processor would take a bit longer to fade.

Apparently giving the old adage about the stomach being the fastest way to the heart was true, or the kid had seen something in the soulgaze that made him trust me because he wasn't paying any attention to my staring as he exterminated every bit of food in my place, at least not until he ran out and looked at me with pleading eyes "Sooo….Harry was it? I'm Wally, well you already knew that but it never hurts to be polite, sorry about all your food but I'm still pretty beat and I could use some more fuel don't suppose you know of any good places that deliver? Or if not deliver anything good at all I can pick it up I excel at food runs they're my spec-"

I widened my eyes and cut him off "Hells Bells kid slow down, I can barely understand you!" He sounded like a VCR on fast forward, and it took me a second to process everything he'd said. I couldn't help but smile as I responded to him, something about the run on sentences and the fast talking and how trusting he was made him seem like a cross between a kid brother and a new puppy "Now, yes there's a pizza place near here, Pizza Spress should still be open, no need to use up any of your energy going to get it, I ordered it while you were still out and it should be here any minute, from the way you were healing I figured you would probably pack it away so I got four pies, but now I'm thinking I maybe lowballed it."

Wally's eyes lit up with glee at the thought of pizza (I don't know how things worked in his world but Chicago pizza was pretty famous here so he had a treat coming) I had assumed, because it had to come from somewhere, that his enhanced healing came from a fast metabolism and I was apparently right, most of the things I know of that heal that fast eat their weight in food, but if his appetite so far was anything to go by I was going to have to put the kid to work while he stayed here or he was going to eat me out of house and home…literally.

He must've seen the worry on my face because he grinned at me "Cool…thanks for the grub Harry" his voice was at a more normal pace this time "Sorry about talking so fast, I can get excited sometimes, and yeah good call on the healing, because of my speed I heal really quick but I also burn a ton of calories, looks like the snack compartments on my suit are empty what with the looming end of the world I didn't have time to refill them."

My eyes widened a bit, I knew the kid was a hero and the spell he came through was pretty crazy looking but to know he'd saved his entire world when he sacrificed himself was pretty heavy, it made me glad I'd decided to help. I know people use end of the world as a euphemism a lot, but somehow Wally's statement didn't strike me as hyperbole. The world had obviously given the kid a bum rap and if he was telling the truth he deserved a helping hand. I sighed to myself, who better to play tour guide than your friendly neighborhood wizard.

The pizza arrived after thirty minutes, and I managed to snatch a few pieces of Pizza Spress' famous meat lovers deep dish with only minimal danger of losing my fingers to the garbage disposal that was Wallys mouth. I smiled and shook my head as he disposed of three and three quarter large pizzas in under five minutes. I cleared my throat, fighting not to laugh at the deer in headlights look that came over his face when he he mumbled around a mouth full of food "Did you wansh shome of dis?"

I rolled my eyes and somehow managed to choke down my laughter "I managed to rescue a few pieces from the maw of the beast, besides you need it more than I do. No what I wanted to talk about was how things are going to go while you're here. I assume you want to go home as soon as possible." Wally gave a serious nod. "Well I don't know if I can help with that, but even if I can it will take months of research, and that's best case. In the meantime you don't exist here, which means you need an identity."

I heaved a sigh of disgust "Sadly whatever low level criminal flunky I approach about those papers I have a pretty distinct feeling it will end up getting back to the local big man on campus. He recently approached me about a job, and this would be a perfect way to get me on board. Since I was investigating anyway as long as I don't take money from him, I think something like this might not screw me over too bad. I might as well go straight to the source and get you better papers anyway." Wally continued to watch me warily as he scarfed down pizza, not liking the way this sounded anymore than I did. "So kid, finish up your food and get some sleep. Tomorrow I'm taking you to see Johnny Marcone."

 **Ok folks, this is a new one, but a story I've been working on for quite some time. I'd like to thank Dragonhulk for his input on this one, and I'd like to thank my good friend Nimbus Llewelyn for all his help with working the kinks out of this and planning things out. I know I don't always update too fast but remember that consistent reviews make it much easier to motivate myself to write, shameless as that may be. Anyway hope you enjoy this story, assuming it does well I have very big plans for it.**


	2. It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

The next morning brought sun and soreness. I'd decided to sleep at the office instead of shuttling Wally back to my place (not like it was really much smaller) and since I obviously gave him the cot I kept secreted away for my afternoon naps I had to sleep sitting up in my office chair. My office chair is one of those big leather upholstered jobs with the stiff back and the padded arms, I couldn't get a normal one that was anywhere close to large enough to encompass my brobdingnagian frame, so while I probably wasn't in as bad a shape as I would've been sleeping in a normal spinning office chair, my back was still killing me from sitting upright all night and I appeared to have yanked a muscle in my neck because every time I tried to look to my right I got a shooting pain through my shoulder blade and neck.

I had awoken to the sound of the door slamming shut, the frosted glass on my office door rattling ominously against the wooden frame as it did, and Wally, looking guilty and balancing a leaning tower of pink donut boxes in arms swimming in my duster. Apparently having been smart enough to take the mask off (hells bells the kid looked young) and having no clothes to change into my ginger house-er officeguest had snagged my coat off the coat rack and taken it out on a stroll about town. It also occurred to me that Wally probably couldn't use whatever money they used on his world, if he even had any (they would show up as counterfeits when someone inevitably used this worlds version of the bill) and had thus probably used my own wallet for the sale, a thought which had me groaning even harder than the pain in my neck (which I had decided to also name Wally, in honor of the resemblance).

The top box was askew and partly bent and Wallys face was dusted with white powder, a donut between his teeth as he maneuvered the door closed, apparently incapable of not stuffing his face for the fifteen seconds opening the thing would take him. I glared. Hard. Wally gave what probably would've been a sunny smile if his face wasn't full of donut of and said around a mouth full of pastry "Hi Harry." I glared. Harder. The smile wilted a bit as he set the boxes down and stripped off my coat, getting powdered sugar all over the leather as he hung it back up and swallowed the rest of the donut whole. Gross.

He noisily sucked the sugar off his fingers and looked at me guiltily. "Ok I know this probably doesn't look like it, but I swear I was trying to be nice." I glared. I suspected my glare might have been evolving into a full blown scowl, because he hurried to continue "I used my own money to pay for these. The Lea- the people I work for are big on preparedness so we all carry a small amount of gold American eagle dollar coins just in case we end up somewhere currency isn't exactly the same as we're used to. You can convince most people to take gold in a pinch, and I stopped at the library to make sure you guys have these here and you do, plus no serial numbers so its all good." My scowl wilted a bit around the edges, losing a bit of the hostility, though not all of it because I was tired and sore.

Finally after keeping him pinned on my glare for another minute I sighed and slumped back, wincing at the twinge in my neck. "That's pretty smart actually. And thank you for picking up breakfast, I appreciate it, but I'd prefer you not wander around Chicago until we've had a chance to get everything sorted out with your papers and I can get you regular clothes and show you around." I reached across the desk for one of the pink boxes he'd set down on when he hung up my coat (not the top one, he could have that box after that finger licking thing) and flipped it open, pulling out an éclair. I saw a few Jellys and a boston cream or two in there as well, and suddenly felt much more disposed to like my guestruder.

I gave him a nod and grunt of thanks, again with the neck pain, and he returned it with a weak smile and sat down in my client chair to get back to work on his box of donuts. He started taking between bites "Yeah, sorry, I wont. Its just the pizza burned off over the night, I got a bit banged up on reentry and healing really kills the calories. Donuts are calorically dense as hell and cheap, plus delicious, so I figured I could do something nice for you before you woke up. I didn't mean to make so much noise though, I'm really sorry about that. You're probably right though, I've never been to Chicago where I'm from other than for quick pizza runs, though this place kind of reminds me of Gotham, except not as…bad."

Now I felt like an asshole, tired or not the kid had tried to do something nice for me and I'd laid into him. I felt like a heel, and these donuts were actually really good which made it somehow even worse. I offered him an encouraging smile "Well seems like you did a pretty great job picking out the place. Shouldn't be a problem after today anyway, and I really do appreciate the food. Breakfast is not something I get a chance to indulge in often, so It's a nice surprise." Which was true, eating anything other than Ramen and Spaghetti O's tended to be a splurge, and I saved those for steak sandwiches and beer at Macs. I'd have to get the name of this place to give to Murphy, if only to irritate her with the implication that all cops like donuts.

Wallys weak smile seemed to brighten at the thanks, and I promised myself I'd take him to Macs as an apology. I'd gotten paid last week from that case with the Pooka and I had a few tens of dollars to spare. Hey, big spender, huh? We finished the rest of the donuts in silence, not the awkward stretching kind, but that peaceful morning silence when everyone still isn't sure they remember how to talk and you hoard your words like gold. Once we finished up I handed Wally back my coat and we headed out to do some shopping before our three P.M appointment with John Marcone.

Surprisingly Wally, gregarious as he was, didn't care much for the mall, a stance I could definitely sympathize with. I think anti-social tendencies are a beat we can all dance to. We ended up pulling straight through the parking lot without stopping and heading over to Ross for some cheap clothes. We strolled around the aisles, looking at all the weird knick knacks Ross always seems to collect, weird Russian dolls, some old pots and pans, and Wally dragged me over to the toy section where he found on of those weird neon green see through plastic listening devices that looks like a reverse bullhorn. He turned it on right next to me and we freaked out and ran when it sparked and caught fire.

Hanging out with Wally was actually pretty fun. At twenty one he was only two years younger than I was and honestly I didn't have many friends. Aside from Murphy and a couple people at Macs I was pretty insulated. My world was a dangerous place and it had gotten dark fast. I spent most of my time trying to survive and had for years, but Wally reminded me of some of the kids at the orphanage who got adopted before I did. The fun ones, who everyone liked and who always made everyone smile. I had a brief pang of pain and shame as I thought of Elaine, who wasn't just my first love but my best friend, before I'd failed her right into an early grave.

Wally seemed to notice the dour mood settle over me and elbowed me in the ribs, or since he was like a foot shorter than me more the kidney really. "Hey sourpuss, whats with the frowny face. I already told you you don't smell like smoke, that was just a small fire. Though having a Murphyonic field that disrupts technology would probably but a scowl on my mug too, I just figured you'd be used to it by now." My mouth twitched in a smile, not many people can use willful cheeriness to bulrush over a persons bad mood like that without being annoying. Wally was almost managing.

I raised an eyebrow at him "I'm almost afraid, because it kind of sounded like you have a scale for how bad the fires you set are in your day to day life. Something you want to tell me Matchstick?" Wallys concern shifted into a laughing grin at the comment, feigning an offended look as best he could through the Cheshire smile.

The beat up old sneakers he'd snagged from the back aisle squeaked on that weird cheesy linoleum floor all Ross's seem to share as he stopped and put a hand to his chest with a dramatic gasp. "Me? Start fires? I'll have you know that I am in complete control of my hotness, I couldn't start a fire if I wanted to just ask my-" He stopped cold and the smile slid right off his face, the amused light in his eyes dying. His voice croaked out hollow and sad as he started talking again "I mean no. Not a firebug. Sorry, I'll be right back I have to hit the bathroom. When I get back we can hit that Sonic drive through we passed, I could use some corndogs." He shot me a weak, forced version of that cheesy grin, and disappeared in a way that had nothing to do with super speed.

I sighed sadly. I knew that look. Knew that heartbreak in his voice. It was the same way I felt when I talked about Elaine, and I was guessing that Wally might have had someone special of his own before he gave up his life saving his world. I tried to imagine knowing that someone I loved moving on with their life because they thought I was dead. Trapped worlds apart and unable to get back to them. Tried to imagine Elaine still being alive and being stranded in some other reality, and my heart broke for my new friend. Nope. Screw corndogs. We needed beer.

Wally came back from the bathroom about ten minutes later, his eyes suspiciously red and his voice a bit hoarse. I deduced that he had probably been crying. Me and Phillip Marlowe. Someone was going to hire me to recover the Maltese Falcon any day now. We paid for all the clothes, most of which Wally was already wearing, because a day-glow yellow, onesie with lightning bolt ear pieces is the opposite of subtle, and headed out to the beetle, reaching Macs in record time.

Wally seemed to recover a bit from his ordeal as we drove, distracting himself by playing with the ancient radio in my car that rarely functioned on even a basic level. He actually took the thing apart while I drove and put it back together and it worked for easily five minutes before dissolving back into its usual sullen static. Apparently my new buddy was good with technology. Go figure.

Once we arrive at Macs I sent Wally over to a booth in the back while I went up to the bar to get two beers (only one each, I was driving thank you very much) and three steak sandwiches (one for me and two for him, Wally was a garbage disposal and I wasn't made of money) making pleasant monosyllabic conversation with Mac until the food was done and heading back to drop it off. Wally looked surprised when I plopped the beer down in front of him, popped the cap on mine and sat down. "Ok, we are officially ready for this conversation. Whats her name?"

The surprise morphed into a sort of shocked horror and his face went bone white. "I don't know who you're-" I shut him up with a hand and raised a questioning eyebrow. He let out a long sigh. "Her name is Artemis. We've been together now for about five years. We live together. I even retired for her. She's…shes my everything. She probably doesn't think she means anything to me now. I told her I was out. Told her we could be out together, and when she went back I was so mad. So angry at everything and everyone that I wasn't enough for her. That she would do that after the promises we made to each other. And then the first time some alien apocalypse kicks off I go and get myself erased from existence without even saying goodbye like I could care less about her."

The words kept pouring out. He told me how he'd met her when they were sixteen, and he hadn't been able to stand her because she was there to replace his friend, how he'd been interested in another member of their team (which he seemed to be unintentionally vague about, as if out of habit). How he'd started to realize what she meant to him slowly, and how he'd fallen hard for the pretty little smartass who could put him in traction. He told me how they'd finally gotten together and being with her had been better than all the crazy missions and villains he'd run into with his team, and by the time he was done, he had tears running down his face and his words were choked. Nobody in the bar paid any attention. Macs isn't that kind of place. Its why I like it so much.

I just sat and didn't say a word. I let him vent, because I could tell this had been killing him since he'd woken up on this world, and sometimes people just need to talk things out. And then when he was done, I shared my story. Because friends don't let friends bare emotional wounds alone. I told him about my dad dying, and Justin adopting me, and Elaine and what we meant to each other, and while I had cried all my tears out over this a long time ago, my voice was surprisingly thick by the time I finished, and I looked him in the eye. "So believe me when I say that I know exactly how you feel. I know how much that hurts. And I don't believe that your Artemis could live with you for five years and stick around without realizing how much you love her. You'd need to do something pretty horrible to destroy that kind of love."

Wally seemed to want to argue with me, wether about Artemis or the obvious implication that Elaine had hated me at the end I didn't know, but he just snorted and finished the last swallow of his bottle before looking at me. "You know, alcohol has no real effect on me because of my metabolism? Makes it pretty weird that I needed this beer so bad. Good sandwiches too." After all the emotions and soul searching, it felt good to laugh.

We pulled up outside the Varsity at two fifty, ten minutes before our appointment with the napoleon of crime. Shut up, I'm a detective. I'm allowed to give my nemeses impressive names to make myself sound cooler. Sherlock Holmes never put up with half the bullshit I go through. The strip mall the club was situated in was fairly busy for a weekday, John did a decent business with the local college kids. Wally seemed to notice my hesitation to get out of the car "You sure you want to do this man? I could always run us to another city and we could get papers made up there? This guy sounds like bad news."

I scowled and shook my head as I finally got out of the Beetle "No, Marcone has ties to city government, getting them through him will make it much more likely they'll stand up to scrutiny from the police, which you will end up under hanging around with me. Plus I'm doing this job anyway, might as well do some good while I'm inadvertently working for criminal scum." I had my coat back on, and felt much safer with my defenses on me again. I assumed since he'd been some kind of vigilante Wally could handle himself so I didn't feel too bad about depriving him of the protection, not that he should need it here.

Wally looked troubled "Well….ok, I guess. If things get too hairy we can always bail. I'm sure I can figure something out." We were stopped at the door by the bouncer and I gave my name. Marcone spent a decent amount of time here and I was sure he was still interested in retaining my services. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't take his money though. Not under any circumstances. Helping Wally was one thing, but my pride was not for sale.

The large angry looking man gave us a nod as he let us past the rope and into the club and the music blasted over us as the doors opened, letting the smell of stale beer and sweat and bodies roll out into the afternoon. I gave Wally one last look as we headed inside. Its funny. I wasn't used to being the one who was off to see the wizard. Though I guess it was appropriate, since I had clearly lost my mind.

 **Ok guys, really happy with the chapter. My muse would just not shut up. All reviews are good reviews, I hope to hear from everyone. I have big plans for this one and as before I want to thank Nimbus for his input on this story. Having a sounding board is making this one a lot easier to write.**


	3. Shout at the Devil

The varsity was…well, it was a club. Honestly they're pretty much all the same. Loud music, scantily clad girls, the smell of smoke, scantily glad guys, and that one guy whose friends let him get WAY too drunk and now he thinks he can dance and is trying to impress all the women and show up all the guys with the killer moves he doesn't actually have. I like to call him Tim. Every club has a Tim.

What every club does not have, is an abominable snow thug. The giant looming ginger tough guy standing at the door to the VIP room was pretty obviously packing heat as he led us back to the pleasant somewhat average looking green eyed man waiting for us at the table in the back. Marcone gave us a pleasant smile as we sat down across from him, the effect somewhat dampened because it never reached his eyes. Nothing ever did. Those cold green eyes always creeped me out. I could meet them now without fear of another soul gaze, but those frozen pools of toxic waste held their own unique form of terror.

Those dead eyes flicked over to my friend and the smile became a shade predatory "Well Mr. Dresden, seems you've reconsidered my offer? Or are you just here to ask me questions about the case? Oh, but where are my manners, would either of you like a drink? Allison dear, can you bring my guests whatever they would like?" A girl appeared to the side of the table, her rather large breasts stretching a tight corset that bared several inches of pierced navel and a pair of skin tight shorts so tiny they may have been smaller than the belt holding them up. She was pretty, with dark hair and dark eyes, wearing a bit to much eyeliner and a ring in her nose.

Allisons eyes fell on me and she flashed bright white teeth at me in an interested smile. I wasn't really surprised this particular girl was interested in unusually tall, pale dark haired guys in long black coats. She seemed like the type. As the varsity was a legitimate business and this girl was eighteen at the oldest (was it even legal for her to work here?) I was guessing she was really just a waitress and not some highly trained ninja bodyguard in disguise. Though admittedly if she was, her disguise was effective as hell.

I gave her a polite smile and waved a hand "Nothing for me thanks. I'm driving." She gave me a pout, which was actually pretty appealing on her, and wrinkled her brow cutely in irritation as Wally echoed the sentiment. I'm betting she was expecting good tips when she ended up working the VIP room. Sad for her. I couldn't even afford to pay attention. Her face smoothed as Marcone ordered a Gin, and Clifford the big red Thug just grunted "Pass". She flashed us all another smile and then flounced away, which worked really well in that corset.

Marcone turned back to me no longer bothering with the smile "Now that pleasantries are out of the way, I'm curious, what brings you to my humble establishment?" Apparently our little tete a tete in the car and the fact that I didn't trust him enough to drink anything here officially made it a waste of time to be polite. That's fine, I wasn't planning to be polite either.

I met his eyes "I'm here to take the case for you. But I have a few conditions. If you're willing to hear them out fine, if not, I'll walk. You're only a marginally lesser evil and I'm on the fence about even that." Unfortunately that wasn't true. The only other person I knew who ran in similar circles of influence was Bianca, and I'd fuck the horse I rode in on before I owe a vampire. Seriously, some things are just common sense. However John didn't necessarily know that, and I wasn't stupid enough to make it obvious.

He waved his hand, both to gesture me to continue and to shut up Cujo, so I went on "I wont be accepting money from you. I don't like you, I don't respect you, and I think the world would be a better place if you were fertilizing someones garden. However in this particular instance you have connections that could help me out, so heres how this goes. I want you to get me a new identity for someone. No questions about the background. I take the case and solve Tommys murder and you make someone appear, full background, so tight the FBI wont even know its not real. This is a one time transaction. If you keep records of this, try to blackmail or the person I'm helping or use this as leverage, I will…improvise. Suddenly, and violently, and all over the place."

Marcone waited a minute after I finished talking. Ostensibly figuring out if I was done, but probably playing some weird power game trying to make me uncomfortable by being silent. It didn't work, and he started talking after a few seconds " I assure you Mr. Dresden I am not in the habit of blackmail." I raised an eyebrow at him "Well, I'm not in the habit of offering services with strings attached anyway. In my line of work professional pride is what keeps things running smoothly. Blackmailing people with services I provided myself sets a bad precedent."

I sneered at the comment, but I understood the logic. All the other criminals might stop coming to him if his services were compromised. "Fine, and since you have so many people in the government, especially local, it shouldn't be too hard for you to get documents for my friend here." Marcone gave Wally a look and opened his mouth but I cut him off "Ah-that looks like its going to be a question. You remember what we said about questions right? You get me the papers, and I find your killer. End of deal. And don't even think about coming after my friend or…well insert prior threat here."

Marcone raised an eyebrow at me but finally nodded "Very well Mr. Dresden. But I look forward to our future ventures together being somewhat more civil. Once you've seen an example of my professionalism." I snorted at that "I told you, this is a one time thing, I'm never working with you again." Marcone gave me that cold shark smile "That Mr. Dresden, is what they all say." I couldn't help but feel like a rat in a trap, I gave one last glare and got up and left. I even walked out slowly. I wasn't running. Honest.

Wally and I got back into the beetle and pulled out into traffic. He was giving me a sad and knowing look "That didn't look like no big deal, Harry." I grunted. I didn't want to talk about this. I felt….dirty. Like I'd sold my soul. But that wasn't Wallys fault. I wasn't going to take my bad choices out on him. He might've been right about going out of town for the papers, but it was too late now. It occurred to me that I would have to go back. Once I solved this case I'd need to give them the information for Wallys identity. I just hoped I could look at myself in the mirror after.

 **Ok guys this was a tough chapter. I honestly don't dislike Marcone as a person or have anything against his character, and writing a hardline moral stance like Harry has especially early in the series was really hard for me. I hope that I managed it without it coming out too stilted. The next chapter will be longer.**


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